Do you know good Vodka? Whether it's Grey Goose, Smirnoff, Ketel One or Chopin, this guide will help you determine the good vodkas from the ones with the good promo and marketing and give you a leg up on your fellow drinkers. Keep in mind, it's your dollar and that your individual tastes and preferences should be the final factor in determining what you like and what you drink.

Originally, vodkas were eastern bloc wonders derived from either potato or grain then James Bond came along and brought it into the mainstream. Popular with businessmen for a quick drink during lunch hour for its odorless, colorless simplicity vodka quickly caught the nations livers in its iron grip. Nowadays, vodkas are made from almost anything - grape skins and rice and from everywhere like Japan and the good old Estados Unidos. It's easy to mix with either tonic or soda or you can put it in its Sunday best with some olives and vermouth. The possibilities are endless.

But what about the vodka itself? How can you tell whats good from whats a glossy ad in a men's magazine? Never fear, you're buddies here at Metrowize have your back.

Lets start with a little known vodka named Grey Goose, which is the bell of the ball at every high end bar. It's billed as super premium and the best tasting in the world, and is priced accordingly. The thing is though, it's like the Darrel Strawberry of vodkas in that its they're both hyped up more then they ever were worth. What you find when you're drinking Grey Goose is a healthy amount of sugar added to a mediocre distilled grain vodka to give it that "unique" taste.

Compare and contrast next time to one of our favorites, the lowly Smirnoff, a gold medalist in this years San Francisco World Spirits competition. This is one of the cleanest, purest vodka's on the market and by stroke of luck it's also the cheapest.

With that nugget of wisdom we now segue into the test. The way to impress your friends that you're not just a cheapskate - but a savvy consumer who knows how to spot a good vodka. Next time your in the bar take a little bit of vodka and rub into your hands, take something like the local SKYY for example - when you rubbing it between your palms it gets very slick, sort of like soap. That's because they're using glycerin, it leaves a thin coat on your tongue to cover impurities in the vodka.

Do the same thing with Grey Goose, with dry hands of course. What you're feeling is the added sugar. Now, try the same test with super premium, worth it's price Potato based Chopin - if you don't feel much more than alcohol its because that's exactly how vodka is supposed to be. Like a freshly washed and scrubbed Olivia Munn, clean and smooth. Some other well known vodkas that embrace this principal are Ketel One, Ciroc and Hanger 1.

The next thing to look for when picking a vodka is the percentage of alcohol it contains. Traditionally vodka ranges from 35-40% but the standard is 40%. Almost all straight vodkas are 40% or 80 proof. The way to determine the proof is to double the percentage of liquor.

When it comes to the ever popular field of flavored vodkas the proof shows you if the flavoring is added or if it has been infused. Infusing is a process in which the vodka is being completely saturated with the essence of whatever the fruit, herb or whatnot that is desired, thus keeping the liquor percent at a respectable 40. Some distilleries just add the flavor after the vodka is made and by doing so they drop the fun factor down to a lowly 35%.

So the next time you're looking over the ocean of flavored liquors try to make sure that yours is at least 80 proof. Great ones to try are the fantastic local Hanger vodkas. Our favorite has to be Hanger Raspberry which only comes out once a year.

Ultimately, what you put into your liver in some way defines who you are. To put it a different way, what kind of smurf do you smurfing want to be? Dopey who just follows the pack or Papa Smurf who lays it down each and every time?

Now get out there and get drunk because now you know - and to finish up on another eighties cartoon theme, "knowing is half the battle."